Page 39 - 4-8-2019-Pollstar-rev

2019 ROLLING LOUD’S

The duo became friends back in grade is the up-and-com-
school, growing up together in Florida learn- ing talent and what Special Touches,
ing the ropes of party planning by putting on we’ve been saying, FESTIVAL
that it’s still a life-
keggers. They later graduated to putting on style brand. Only SPECIAL Cool Activations
hip-hop club shows with their Dope Entertain-
ment, putting on shows by artists that would so many artists can & Hundred-Dolla Bills
become hip-hop stars, such as Ab-Soul, Earl do arenas. … When a fanbase has seen you X
Sweatshirt and A$AP Ferg among others. many times already, it’s just math.”
“We were touring all these big hip-hop acts, “Anybody can go to an arena show,” Zingler
Kendrick even before anyone else was booking says. “It’s the same gate, same parking, you
Kendrick, when he was doing 700 tickets in have to deal with security, finding your seat
Tallahassee,” Cherif said. “We were pushing, and getting there. You may go onto the floor,
pushing, pushing booking tour after tour and but, ‘Oh my God ,there’s chairs on the floor.
a lot of the time losing money, selling 50 per- I thought I was going to party on the floor!’
cent of the room. We were promoting a lot of Then there’s production. ‘What is that? I
artists that are now killing it.” thought it was going to be something bigger.’
The first Rolling Loud in 2015 was in a It’s not always what you think,” Zingler says,
warehouse, “it was all we could afford!” but adding, “Then again, sometimes you put a
quickly grew, with its third year selling out rollercoaster inside like Travis or do something
with Kendrick Lamar topping the bill. Even unique, and that’s cool.
then, not everyone believed in or understood
the vision. Rolling Loud co-founders Matt Zingler and
“It’s really funny. Everybody was like, that’s
not a festival, that’s a rap show,” Zingler said, Tariq Cherif with the on-fire Juice WRLD, who played
RL Los Angeles and is playing Miami in May.
laughing. Rolling Loud co-founders Tariq and Matt Zingler
Cherif added, “Even on the third Rolling via Instagram
Loud that had Kendrick, but definitely the first have a heavy hand in the brand they’ve
two, when we said we’re doing a big hip-hop “It still takes us all year to build and there’s brought up from nothing. The personal touches
festival, people would say, ‘What? Why would always going to be a wow factor. Honestly, I are felt throughout, from official signage and
you do that?‘ Now, people are trying to figure see arena tours suffering before Rolling Loud merch to poop emojis in the bathroom.
out how they can do it. suffers.” The duo explains:
“We sold out that year with 40,000 people As for just how big that expansion becomes, Cherif: Hip-hop is a multidimensional genre,
per day, so it was huge, don’t get me wrong, and not “wanting to shoot ourselves in the or culture, really, I should say. It’s not only
but we sold out a couple weeks before the foot” by announcing international markets about the music, it’s about fashion, art, swag,
show and were still promoting pretty hard. before everything is fully confirmed, Rolling
Now, we sell out in a couple hours.” Loud may hit 10-12 markets, Cherif says, “Just it’s about how you carry yourself. So there’s
Rolling Loud’s rise to coast-to-coast taste- a sustainable amount.” ways we can expose and highlight that at
makers has drawn the notice of the industry Zingler clarifies, “That’s total. We’re not the show. We do that via cool sponsorship
as well, including fellow hip-hop and festival going to have more shows in the U.S. because activations with the right brands that speak
promoter Sascha Stone Guttfreund, whose our goal is to hit the four corners and have to the culture. Like when True Religion does a
ScoreMore Shows (now a Live Nation affiliate) them separate enough to not conflict with basketball court. Or Monster Energy comes in
produced Travis Scott’s Astroworld fest and each other, and still offer the experience to and does a skatepark. We collab with amazing
is promoting J Cole’s Dreamville. “I’m also so those who can’t go to every one.” fashion designers to make really cool merch
happy to see the Rolling Loud guys winning,” Overseas targets include Asia, Europe and you can be proud to wear in any setting, not
he said, adding that it’s “a great example of South America.
once-upon-a-time underdogs earning their “On the business end, everything is turn- specific for just the concert experience.
success.” key and ready to go,” Cherif says. “That’s how Everything is authentic and on-brand and
Booking agents are clearly fans as well, and high the demand is on the buyer side on the true. We won’t let it happen if not. One time
want to see their artists on such an influential ticket side and everything. The barriers are we had some branded inflatable that was just
event, including one fellow South Floridan bureaucratic, with challenges of getting artists their logo, and I was like ‘Nah.’ Can’t ever do
who represents a major act on the Miami bill. into the country, different local laws and in- that again. It’s gotta be cool.
“It’s like P-Diddy said, it’s Woodstock for surance and permits and all of that.” Zingler: We also limit that a lot. We’re not
hip-hop,” said 33 & West’s JJ Cassiere, who With Rolling Loud being an obvious anomaly very heavy on the sponsors because we’d
represents DMX. “For that genre of music, as a major but fully independent festival,
it’s the festival, not just for headliners but for questions of selling to a major corporation are rather not have a sponsorship than have a
developing acts, too, which is really cool about sure to arise. lame activation. The bigger the site, the more
what those guys are doing. “You’d be stupid not to read an offer,” Cherif we can do. If it was up to Tariq and myself,
"Some festivals lack the lower portion of the told Pollstar previously. “We’ll read the offers. we’d have a full basketball court or skatepark
bill and they’re limited on openers, but that Can’t promise what will happen after that. We and make it like Disneyworld.
festival is a monster.” like being independent, it’s great, but we got Cherif: Even the little things, like our sig-
With an influx of hip-hop artists, and major kids too. Matt has expenses, (laughing).” nage. We use poop emojis in the bathrooms,
contemporary festivals now long on the trend “We’re not stubborn, we’re just reserved,” because it’s funny (laughs.) Little things like
of hip-hop headliners, is there a worry of satu- Zingler added. “The reality is that we’re not
rating not only the festival market but hip-hop really looking to sell. When you’re trying to that, as a silly example. The ticket says ‘con-
as well? buy something that’s not really looking to sell, grats, you’ve secured the bag.’
“The marketplace can withstand maybe three you lose a little leverage.” Cherif: We bring in a Brink’s truck, and it’s
big arena tours per year,” Cherif said. “We are And, while making the rules and calling the full of gold bricks and 100-dollar bills with
kind of wary of that, but our edge against that shots, the leverage seems to be all theirs. s Matt’s face and my face on it.
Zingler: Yeah! We do cool shit! (both
laughing). s
APRIL 8, 2019 | 39